Dave Ostrander
Photo by Josh Keown

What kind of pizza sauce, cheese, etc. did you use when you owned your business? I’m often asked about the products I served at Big Dave’s Pizza. As you might already have guessed, I often had my own way of doing things. I believe you have to stand out. Here’s a look at some of my favorite recipes:

BIG DAVE’S PIZZA SAUCE

2 cans all-purpose ground tomatoes
2 cans heavy tomato purees
1¼ cans water
.6 ounces leaf basil
.6 ounces leaf oregano
2 ounces black pepper
2 ounces granulated garlic
1 ounce granulated onion
4 ounces salt
4 ounces sugar
8 ounces olive oil
3 ounces Parmesan-Romano cheese

Open the ground tomatoes and pour into a 22-quart container. Scrape tomato puree into container. Fill one can with water. Pour back and forth between all cans until all tomato solids are rinsed with from walls.

Pour water into two clean cans and add ¼ more water into one of them.

Add all dry spices into one of the cans of water and stir.

Let spices rehydrate for 5 minutes. Pour all water into container and stir until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Pour in olive oil and stir again. Sprinkle cheese on top and stir again. Date and refrigerate. Good for 7 days.



BIG DAVE’S PAN PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE (IN BAKER’S PERCENT)

2½ pounds vegetable oil
16 ounces sugar
12 ounces salt
8 ounces PZ-44 dough conditioner
25½ pounds water at 70-75 F

Stir all ingredients with a wire whip.

45 pounds white flour 1 pound of whole wheat flour 14 ounces instant dry yeast

Pour water in mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt in bowl. Stir with a wire whip for 10 seconds.

Let rest for 2 minutes. Stir again. Add 2½ pounds vegetable oil, stir again.

Pour in both flours.
Sprinkle yeast and PZ-44 on top.
Start mixer on low speed and raise bowl. Mix for 9 minutes, low speed.

Bench work:
1. Dump the batch on a floured bench.
2. Core temperature should be 85 – 90 F.
3. Slice mass into 5-6 logs.
4. Sprinkle flour on all surfaces.
5. Cut and weigh dough balls. 10 ounces for small and 20 ounces for large size pizza.
6. Roll loose-floured dough balls, flatten and run through the sheeter.
7. Place the flattened dough balls into greased Crisco (butter flavor) pans.
8. Cover and place pans in a warm spot to proof until dough doubles in size.
Refrigerate and use within 24 to 36 hours.

Big Dave Ostrander owned a highly successful independent pizzeria before becoming a consultant, speaker and internationally sought-after trainer. He is a monthly contributor to Pizza Today.

By Tony Gemignani
Photo by Rick Daugherty

Q: I’m looking for a standard American-style pizza dough as well as a standard Italian-style. Can you help with recipes?

A: I sure can! Here you go:



Standard Classic America

High gluten/ High protein flour
100 percent flour
58-60 percent hydration
2 percent sea salt
1 percent oil
1 percent malt/sugar
.50-1 percent yeast

Standard Classic Italian

1 liter water
1.8 kilograms flour
50 grams sea salt
50 grams oil
3 grams malt/sugar
2-10 grams yeast

These two recipes are given to each student here on the first day of instruction at the International School of Pizza in San Francisco. The class makes each batch according to the recipe and usually finds that the dough comes out great if made correctly.

When the students leave and go back to their respective kitchens and restaurants, it is up to them to decide if the recipe needs to be changed in any way. What each student generally finds is that, yes, every recipe has to be altered. There is no magic recipe that exists that never needs to be changed. Not only do individual tastes have an effect on recipes, but a host of environmental factors must also be considered.

The environment in which you make dough plays an important role in how each batch comes out and how you decide to tweak your recipe. Heat, humidity, cold, elevation, water, and even the placement of your mixer in your kitchen will all affect the making of dough and should all be considered before mixing. u

Respecting The Craft

Is a new column featuring World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento. Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

By Carol Meres Kroskey
Photos by Josh Keown

As a rustic bread of northern Italian origin, ciabatta is one of those breads that can be anything you want it to be. It’s thought that ciabatta means “slipper” in Italian, though the resemblance might escape some people. “This slipper is supposed to be big and fluffy, to wear during cold weather,” says Sarah Sciortino, who, along with her husband, Renzo, owns Renzo’s Restaurant and two Renzo’s Café & Pizzeria locations in Boca Raton, Florida. That explains a lot about ciabatta’s appearance.

It’s generally agreed, though, that a ciabatta loaf or roll is fl at, irregularly shaped, has large holes in the interior and retains on its surface some of the fl our with which it’s dusted to prevent it from sticking to everything. In addition, the dough usually is given a long, slow fermentation for at least 24 hours to compensate for the fact that the very wet dough isn’t mixed much. Instead, much of the flavor and structure develop during the fermentation period. The long two-step process, which also includes overnight fermentation for a sponge, explains why many operators prefer to buy their ciabattas.

For example, when Renzo and Sarah started their business in New York 42 years ago, they made ciabatta in their shop. “We like ciabatta because it has very good fl avor,” says Sarah. “It’s like an artisan piece of jewelry, but it takes a lot of work and time to make. After we moved to Florida, when an Italian bakery opened near us, we decided to buy it instead. They deliver ciabatta every day at 8 a.m., still warm from the oven, so we know it’s nice and fresh. We usually don’t have leftovers, because we have the same order delivered every day, with a little more on weekends. But if we have any left, we put it on top of the oven to dry out, and make breadcrumbs for our other dishes.”

“We buy ciabatta made with some whole-wheat fl our so you can see the bran in the slices,” Renzo explains. “We use a 10-inch size for sandwiches at our cafés. That gives customers their money’s worth, which is important in this economy. We also use a 16-inch loaf to make garlic bread for the restaurant breadbasket. We cut the ciabatta in half, add olive oil, garlic, paprika, parsley and Romano cheese, then cut it into strips after it comes out of the oven. When we have a big table, we include plain ciabatta too, and customers can request just the plain ciabatta if they don’t want garlic bread.”

Sherri Dominic, owner of Lone Elder Pizza in Canby, Oregon, also buys ciabatta, though as a former baker, she knows how to make it. “We make all our other doughs from scratch,” she says, “but making ciabatta is a long process, so we buy frozen prebaked ciabatta rolls from our supplier. We can just pull it out of the freezer to thaw for our toasted sandwiches and ‘pizza’ slices. For slices, we split the rolls, add sauce and two toppings, then run them through the oven. It’s easy and inexpensive for customers who just want a quick bite, and the ciabatta provides a nice chewy crust. We also serve the rolls in bread baskets for customers who dine in.”

Using a sourdough starter to accelerate the fermentation process and provide some flavor development is an option for ciabatta dough. But some operators don’t see that much difference between producing pizza dough, which has to be retarded, and ciabatta from scratch. “Making ciabatta takes a couple of days,” says Roberto Ienzi, owner of Luciano Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Herndon, Virginia. “But we make everything else from scratch, too. We want our food to be authentic Italian, so we don’t take any shortcuts. We added ciabatta rolls to our menu about a year ago for our sandwiches, and our customers already order more of them than sub rolls.

“Fermenting ciabatta at least 24 hours after making the dough is important. If you try to make them right away, the rolls will be gummy and won’t taste right. A lot of the flavor comes from letting the dough rest after dividing it into 4-inch balls. We cover the tray with plastic wrap so the dough stays moist in the cooler.

“Once we’re ready to bake the rolls, we flatten them like small pizzas, put them on double screens and put the trays on top of the oven to start rising. This step is also important because the rolls have to proof to have the right texture inside. They should be fluffy, not heavy, and proofing them at a low temperature helps to develop more flavor.

“When they hit the right height, we put them in a 500 F oven — I wouldn’t go any lower than 480 F or more than 550 F. We don’t use steam, but we can squirt water into the oven to make sure the crust is thin and not too hard. We put the rolls near the edges of the oven, but not near the corners, so we get an even bake every time. It takes about 15 minutes for the rolls to bake.

“One advantage to making our own ciabattas is that they aren’t perfectly round, so they don’t look like they were bought. Also, they stay moist without heat for at least 12 hours, and probably longer than that. However, we don’t keep it any longer than that, because we want to maintain the highest quality. Besides, about 90 percent of our ciabatta rolls are used in lunch sandwiches.” 

“Fast” Ciabatta
Makes 4 large loaves or 24 to 30 rolls

6 cups high-gluten fl our
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 to 5 cups warm water (95 F to 100 F)
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Blend dry ingredients in mixing bowl using a paddle. Add water and oil. Mix on low speed to blend, then mix on medium speed 5 to 6 minutes or just until dough starts to pull away from the bowl. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Pour dough into well oiled container with enough room to double in size. Lightly spray with olive oil or cover with plastic wrap (or use container with cover). Ferment 1½ to 2 hours at room temperature. Dust workbench generously with fl our. Gently transfer dough to bench, using oiled scraper to avoid deflating dough.

Dust dough with fl our. Use scraper to divide dough into rectangular rolls or loaves. Gently elongate dough pieces using your hands, then fold to middle, forming desired width and length.

Transfer to fl our-dusted pan; dust again with fl our, if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and proof until doubled. Gently flatten, fold ends to middle and elongate to desired width and length again. Cover and proof until doubled.

Oil or fl our sheet pan. Gently lift dough, place on pan, and stretch to desired length. Place in 475 to 500 F oven, using steam. Bake loaves 25 to 30 minutes (rolls 15 to 20 minutes) or until golden brown. Test by tapping on crust; baked bread will sound hollow. Tap baked loaves to remove excess dusting fl our, if necessary.

Note: This procedure allows you to produce a bread that has ciabatta like characteristics. However, it will lack the fermentation flavor that can only be developed during long fermentation.

Carol Meres Kroskey is a freelance writer based in Chicago. She has extensive knowledge covering the baking and food service industries for a variety of publications.

By Tom Lehmann
Photos by Josh Keown

My pizza dough gets too soft to hand toss after only two days in the cooler. What do I do?

A: In reviewing your dough formula and management procedure, I see that your dough formula contains nearly 10 percent oil in addition to 60 percent water. This is much more oil than the two to four percent that is normally used. Keep in mind that both water and oil contribute to the soft and extensible handling properties of the dough. It’s most likely that this is where the problem is. To correct the problem, I would suggest reducing the water content to a level where the combined water and oil do not exceed 56 to 60 percent of the flour weight. Since you like the texture of the finished crust, I would make the adjustment to the amount of water rather than the oil.

Also, keep in mind that the flour needs to hydrate the water in order to form “gluten”. With the high level of oil that you’re using it is entirely possible that a good deal of the flour is absorbing oil rather than water if the oil is not added in a delayed manner. To do this, do not add the oil until the ingredients have had a chance to mix together at a low speed for a couple of minutes. When you cannot see any dry flour in the mixing bowl, the oil can be added and blended in by mixing for an additional minute at low speed, then, the dough can be mixed in your normal manner. This should give you more consistent dough performance, especially after a couple of days in the cooler.

When we met at the last Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, you mentioned that there was an ingredient that we could use to reduce the snap-back of our dough, making hand stretching a lot easier for us. I’ve misplaced my notes. Can you please tell me what that ingredient is again?

A: The ingredient that I made reference to is PZ-44. This ingredient is what we call a “reducing agent.” When used in a dough, it will cause the dough to become softer and more extensible (less elastic). What this means is that it will not exhibit the snap-back characteristics during hand, or machine forming. When adding any type of reducing agent to your dough, care must be taken to prevent using it in an excessive amount.

Since reducing agents work very fast, their effects can be readily seen while the dough is being mixed. Be aware that your mixing time will most likely be shorter than normal. And also, keep in mind that these materials don’t stop working in the cooler, so your dough may become overly soft if stored in the cooler for more than two days. When used correctly, these ingredients can be great assets, especially if you shape your dough skins using a dough press. When a dough press is used, it is common to see the dough shrink back as the pressure is released from the press head. Judicious use of a reducing agent can reduce or eliminate this shrinkage, resulting in consistently sized pizza skins.

We have had a number of requests for a seafood-topped pizza. Do you have any suggestions for a starting point?

A: Seafood pizzas are one of my all time favorites. Start with your regular dough skins and brush lightly with olive oil. apply a thin layer of Alfredo sauce, then sprinkle with diced fresh garlic, coarse ground white pepper, and dried dill weed. Apply some thin sliced onion and pieces of roasted red peppers, and your choice of seafood.

My personal preference is whole raw shrimp (21 to 25 or higher count), sliced raw fish (salmon or orange roughy works well, but any firm flesh fish can also be used) and finish with a light sprinkle of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake just as you would any of your regular pizzas. This is a fun pizza to make as you can use whatever seafood is available. I’ve used grouper for the fish and clams, lobster and even conch for the seafood topping.

Do you have any suggestions for making a breakfast pizza?

A: I’ve always been puzzled by the fact that pizzerias are not open for breakfast trade. The box hamburger stores are all open, and now the box sandwich stores are getting their piece of the breakfast trade too, so why not pizza? Individual-sized breakfast pizzas as well as breakfast size calzones might be just the ticket for a fast, “grab and go” breakfast to feed hungry commuters with little time to wait in long lines.

A great breakfast pizza can be made using an individual size dough skin (5- to 8-inch diameter). Begin by brushing the dough with melted butter, or blend of half butter and half canola oil, add slices of fresh tomato, or tomato filets rather than a traditional sauce, then add breakfast sausage to replace your Italian sausage. For vegetables, use sliced mushrooms, onion, red and green peppers for color, add a sprinkling of crispy bacon pieces, and finish with a light application of half mozzarella and half cheddar cheese. These pizzas hold well under a heat lamp on a heated tray for speedy service.

The other approach that I’ve had great success with is to make a breakfast calzone. I like to keep these on a smaller, individual size format, beginning with a dough skin about 8 inches in diameter. Brush the outer edge of the dough skin with water, then add pre-cooked scrambled egg, sautéed onion, green peppers, mushrooms, pre-cooked bacon pieces, and precooked breakfast sausage. Add a couple pieces of fresh sliced tomato, a little ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, then fold and crimp tightly closed. Cut a vent hole into the top of the calzone, brush with melted butter, or commercial butter oil, and bake to a golden brown color.

These calzones hold very well under a heat lamp, or better yet, slip them into parchment paper pouches (this makes them easier to eat on the run), and hold under a heat lamp. Now, all you need to do is to grab a calzone, drop it into a bag with a cup of coffee, add a napkin or two, and you have the start for a fast, ready-to-go commuter breakfast.

Tom Lehmann is a director at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas.

This year will be all about healthy eating, so be prepared to think about how you can tweak your menu and your existing pizza, pasta and salad offerings to reflect forward thinking as it relates to “tastes better, better for you, less filling.”

I am not suggesting that you have to do a 180 on this, but be aware of trends like these (and those listed below) that will affect how well you stack up against the competition.

Here is one example: In one of my pizza cookbooks, I featured a Pizza Insalata, or salad pizza. This is a
no-sauce pizza that is as simple as topping a cheese pizza with tossed salad greens. In other words, prep and bake a cheese pizza, then let it cool a little. Afterwards, top it with a salad (mixed greens, fresh tomatoes, etc., tossed with a balsamic dressing). This pizza dish is colorful, healthy, easy and delicious.

In that same pizza cookbook I devoted an entire chapter to “Vegetarian Pizza.” What goes around comes around, so I am saying that one of the important trends for 2012 will be how you can come up with dishes where less is more. And doing so creates a win-win situation. What’s not to love about lower food costs, lower menu prices and greater customer satisfaction?

Let me dig a little deeper into what I see will be major trends in 2012:

Other healthier pizza trends have to do with these factors: No added sugar in the sauce, going lighter on the cheese(s), thinner pizza crust (thinner by a lot, but not cracker thin; the crust needs some chew and texture).

Think outside the box when it comes to new ideas in pizza dough. For example, you can fashion a pizza dough by using grains — quinoa and quinoa flour, for example. My intent here is not to have you go off the grid; rather I’d like you to think about what your competition will be throwing at you in the year ahead. Remember the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared.”

Lighter sauces and smaller portions apply to pasta as well. And in the area of pasta, try whole-wheat and whole grain varieties (there are plenty of brands to choose from). To make any pasta dish more appealing, give the sauce the full flavor treatment by spicing it up with, say, chilies or crushed red pepper flakes. And incorporate more vegetables into your pasta dishes.

Keep those veggie toppings for your pizzas up front and personal. Don’t back off from the idea of using eggplant, zucchini, rapini, broccoli and potatoes as pizza toppings. Yes, I know that sausage and pepperoni are still the most popular, but you need to offer alternatives; don’t get stuck in a rut.

Should you be thinking “organic?” Only if it makes sense (it’s becoming a geographical issue). Keep in mind that organic ingredients carry a higher food cost. Let common sense prevail.

Regional themes will be ripe for the picking in the year ahead. Yes, I know that “Regional Italian” was the buzzword a few years back. But in our business there is a cycle that curves back, so be ready to grab on to it when it comes your way. Try something in the order of regional pizzas to include as part of your menu listings. This is part of “Romancing the Menu,” which will drive your competition crazy, because their reaction time will be slower (which means you get the jump on them). For example, put into play regional names like Sardinian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Tuscan and Roman in every way — salads, pasta, pizza — you possibly can. A trip up and down the Italian boot can be very, very tasty.

Put some thought into your children’s fare and kids’ menus. Do more, offer more, make it more interesting, a reason for parents to bring the kiddos to your restaurant. The words “family friendly” will never go out of style.

Gluten free pizza. Has the gluten-free trend hit its peak, or is it here to stay? Conflicting reports abound, but it’s important to remember that only a very small percentage of the population — one percent — need to eat gluten-free for medical/health purposes. To that end, if you would like to make a gluten-free pizza, here is my basic recipe.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

Yield: about 18 ounces of pizza dough

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 ½ cups white rice flour

1 tablespoon corn oil

Put the yeast, sugar and water in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and rice flour and add it to the water-yeast mixture. Add the corn oil. Mix until the dough comes
together and you can form a ball. Add additional rice flour if needed (the dough should be soft and pliable). Set aside. Cover. Let rise for an hour or more.

Lightly coat a quarter-sheet pan with olive oil (or you can use corn meal). Press the dough into the pan and up the sides, making it as thin as possible without tearing it. For added flavor brush the crust with garlic butter or garlic oil. Top with the usual toppings — sauce, cheese(s), herbs. Bake at 450-475 F for 15-20 minutes (don’t over bake the pizza or the crust will be too tough), until the crust gets crispy and takes on some color.

Remember that this is a crust that is not light and can be rather stiff.

Pasquale "Pat" Bruno

One of my cookbooks on pizza, The Great Chicago-Style Pizza Cookbook, first came out in 1983. If my math is correct, that was 25 years ago. Holy pepperoni, pizzaman, that’s a long time ago. Yes, even though this book is still in print, I honestly admit that it is in dire need of an update. And the reason I am thinking that way is because so much has changed over the years relative to Chicago pizza. Nevertheless, all of the pizza restaurants that I mentioned in my book are still in business, which is a testament to not only the popularity of pizza, but the idea that if you make a good pizza people will come (and come, and come).

Each of the restaurants in the book have a different style of pizza: deep-dish; stuffed; thin crust; Italian bakery and variations on all of those themes. What are not in the book are pizza places using wood-burning ovens. The reason for that, believe it or not, is that there weren’t any pizza places with wood-burning ovens in Chicago in 1983. Hard to believe, but it’s true.

I am here to tell you that all of that has changed. There are (at least, as I write this) a dozen pizza places that are working with wood-burning ovens. On top of that there are countless restaurants using ovens with chambers that are gas-fired. In short, the landscape of Chicago-style pizza has changed dramatically.

The earth may have moved here in Chicago, but the foundation of Chicago-style pizza is still rock solid. And that foundation was built when Pizzeria Uno opened in 1943, and Chicago was introduced to deep-dish (also known as pan) pizza. It tasted good back then and it still tastes good today, and this deep-dish pizza became the benchmark on which all pizzas (at least those after 1943) were measured. How so? It had to do with every part of that pizza: crust, cheese, tomatoes, toppings, the finished product. Also in the deep-dish game we find Gino’s East, which got going in 1966. Another big hit right from the start.

The hits just kept on coming. Next on the deep-dish scene was Lou Malnati’s (Lou worked at Uno’s for a number of years). Another fine pie. Malnati’s opened its first location in Lincolnwood, a suburb of Chicago, in 1971, and now has some 25 locations spread around Chicagoland.

On the thin-crust side, we have to look to Home Run Inn and acknowledge its contribution to the Chicago pizza scene. Home Run Inn got going in 1947. Actually it was a bar on Chicago’s near south side that just happened to serve pizza. I first tasted Home Run Inn when I got to Chicago in 1967. I got hooked on this pizza back then and I am still hooked on it today.

Relative to stuffed pizza, we go into the same year as Home Run Inn –– 1967. For those not in the know about stuffed pizza, it’s like a deep-dish pizza (same style of pan is used), but there are two crusts. One crust is fitted into the pan (the dough overlapping the sides of the pan). The filling (toppings in other words) goes into that deep well. Another thin sheet of pizza dough goes over the filling and the two pieces of dough are crimped together (like a two-crust fruit pie). Now the tomato sauce goes on top and the pizza gets baked.

But –– and there’s always a but in situations like this –– all of these new pizza places, and I am referring to those new woodburning oven places that are serving Neapolitan-style (a.k.a. thin crust) pizzas, are getting their slice of the pie, so it’s boiled down to which place can do a pizza better than that place. Pizzeria Uno (and its sister restaurant, Pizzeria Due) will always get its share of business (the crowds waiting outside to be called to a table are testament to that), and so will institutions like Giordano’s, Home Run Inn, Lou Malnati’s, Gino’s East and the rest.

The variety and style of pizzas that are so abundant in Chicago makes my home city a very unique place, so the idea of what Chicago Style pizza is all about anymore is this: It’s all about a city where pizza is part of the atmosphere, part of the fabric, part of our daily lives. And that is what makes Chicago the Pizza Capital of the World (sorry, Naples, but it’s true).

Here is a recipe for deep-dish pizza, the pizza that made Chicago famous.

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Yield: One 12-inch deep-dish pizza (scale up in direct proportion)
8 ounces of sliced part-skim low-moisture mozzarella cheese (about 11 slices)
10 ounces ground pork, mixed with 2 teaspoons fennel seed, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper. (Press the meat into a patty that is almost as big as the pan.)
1½ cups ground tomatoes mixed with 1 teaspoon oregano and1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons grated Romano cheese

The dough
1/4 ounce active dry yeast (not instant)
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup corn oil
2½ cups flour (11-12 percent protein, a soft flour)
2 teaspoons salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend the yeast into the water. Add the sugar and corn oil. Mix to combine. Add the flour and the yeast. Mix to combine and run the mixer for about 4 minutes at medium speed. The dough should clean the sides of the mixing bowl.
Rub the dough ball all over with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise for 2 hours. Do not punch it down.

Spread and push the dough across the bottom and up the sides of a 12-inch by 2-inch deep pizza pan.

Lay the slices of cheese over the crust, overlapping the slices to cover the dough. Add the pork sausage patty. Spread the tomatoes over the sausage. Sprinkle on the Romano cheese.

Bake in a preheated 475 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let the pizza sit for 3 to 4 minutes before cutting.

Carol Kroskey

The genesis of the flatbread called focaccia is lost in the dawn of history. Some food historians credit ancient Etruscans for having discovered how to form a dough into a flat round and bake it on a hot stone under a coating of hot ashes. Given that the Etruscans resided on the northwestern coast of what is now Italy, it’s not surprising that Italians have made focaccia a national bread.
“Focaccia” is derived from a Latin word meaning “hearth.” However, today’s focaccias often are made in pans, allowing their finished shape to be more controlled. Depending on the region, Italians have variations, including Florence’s schiacciata, a thin, dimpled sheet, and Sicily’s sfincione, a thicker version that doesn’t qualify as “flatbread.”
Although it’s hard to nail down exactly what focaccia is, it’s easy to define what it’s not: it’s not pizza. Focaccia starts with a richer dough incorporating a generous amount of olive oil. It uses a process more common to bread baking — it’s allowed to proof before baking. Focaccia is usually dimpled, then washed with olive oil before — and often after — it’s baked. Finally, unless you make a focaccia-based pizza, focaccia is never embellished with tomato sauce. Instead, other ingredients such — salt, garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, basil, or oregano — lend it flavor.

Variety Show
Over the years, different regions of Italy developed focaccia specialties. The simplest version comes from western Liguria and calls for a dough made only with flour, water, yeast and extra-virgin olive oil. After proofing, the dough is shaped, or flattened, then dimpled with a spoon, or by oiled fingertips. Flavor comes from the additional coating of extra-virgin olive oil and coarse salt added before baking in a steam-filled oven.
A version developed in Italy’s mountains, where residents fled with flour, cheese and olive oil to avoid Saracen invaders, is a specialty in the city of Recco. Focaccia al formaggio consists of two thin layers of olive-oil-washed dough that encase shredded stracchino, pecorino, or other meltable cheese. Made in a larger size and cut into wedges, or formed from 3-inch squares for individual servings, this appetizer can tempt diners into ordering more and making a meal of it.
Another traditional Italian way to prepare focaccia calls a finely sliced onion to be added about 3 minutes before the end of baking for tempting aroma and delicious flavor.

Serving Size
Owner’s Roberto and Paulette Pizzo serve focaccia mostly as an appetizer at Doc’s Trattoria and Pizzeria in Lake Waramaug, Connecticut. Chef Michael Rossetti says, “We use our pizza dough, but we don’t stretch it. Instead, we form 8 ounces of dough into an oval, almost like sandwich bread, and let it rise on a sheet pan for an hour. Before we put it into the oven, we top it with cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil. Before baking, ‘plain’ focaccia gets a mixture of salt and pepper, and a dusting of herbs (rosemary is popular). We add more olive oil and flavorings when the focaccia comes out of the oven.

“For another focaccia, we add fresh basil and tomato slices about 3/4 of the way into baking. If customers ask for additional ingredients, such as olives or goat cheese, we can add them. Focaccia is pretty versatile, and we have four or five popular combinations.” On the pizza menu, focaccia is topped with olive oil, garlic, oregano and Romano cheese.

At Bambino’s Pizzeria in Colorado Springs, Colorado, owners Suzette and Kevin Megyeri serve complimentary focaccia so customers can “break bread” before their meal, similar to how Mexican restaurants offer chips and salsa.

After proofing, they dimple the dough with their fingers and add olive oil, roasted garlic and an herb mixture they developed. The Megyeris combine granulated garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, parsley and oregano for basic focaccias and for the 5 1/2-ounce sandwich size. But, Suzette notes, Bambino’s has all types of focaccias available; including those topped with sun-dried tomatoes or anchovies.

“We prefer a salty, garlicky taste,” she says. “We also serve a dipping sauce made by marinating chili peppers and lemon zest in extra-virgin olive oil.”

Dimpling is one common characteristic of focaccia, but Eric Duff, chef and catering specialist for Marino’s on 5th Avenue, New York, has a unique way of achieving it. “Instead of making the dimples with a spoon,” he explains, “we oil the dough, then add about 20 grape tomatoes.” About two or three minutes before it is finished, he removes the roasted tomatoes, which are used to make a sauce.

Duff prepares three different focaccia doughs (including a whole-wheat version), and makes a roll size for sandwiches, as well as rounds and squares. “We serve focaccias as appetizers and main dishes, and in sandwiches for an extra charge,” he says. “The regular focaccia dough has rosemary in it and on it, and our ‘pizza’ focaccia doesn’t, but both have more olive oil than our pizza dough. In fact, focaccia is more popular for pizza, even though we charge more.” To prevent focaccia bottoms from burning during baking, Duff double-pans them, using water in the bottom pan.

Marino’s focaccia-based appetizers include “brioche”, bruschetta, and garlic bread. “Brioche” are individual triangles of rosemary focaccia brushed with pesto. For bruschetta or garlic bread, Duff uses freshly baked focaccia, but allows it to dry a little on top of the oven to crisp the crust to support the toppings. For bruschetta, he slices focaccias in half, spreads on “focaccia sauce,” then adds a mixture of fresh tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and roasted peppers, and tops it with a little shredded fresh mozzarella. For garlic bread, Duff recommends olive oil, garlic, parsley, and a little paprika. “You don’t want to dry out the garlic focaccia,” he says, “and paprika helps to turn it a golden brown more quickly.”



Garlic and Olive Focaccia

6 ounces Yeast
1 pound, 8 ounces warm water (120 F)
11 pounds, 10 ounces bread flour
3 pounds, 12 ounces water (var.)
1 pound, 8 ounces whole eggs
1 pound, 6 ounces olive oil
5 ounces sugar
5 ounces salt
2 pounds, 2 ounces chopped garlic
2 pounds, 2 ounces chopped ripe olives

Stir yeast into warm water and let rest 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour, water, eggs, olive oil and sugar, and mix into a well-developed dough. Add the salt, garlic and olives and mix only enough to disperse evenly in the dough.
Allow the dough to ferment to a full rise, punch down, and continue fermentation for about 1/3 the time it took to reach full rise. Scale into 12 ounce units and round.

Cover, and rest 10 to 20 minutes.
Sheet or press out into rounds or oval-shaped loaves. Proof, then, using a sharp knife, slash the top diagonally. Wash with a generous amount of olive oil, and sprinkle on coarse salt.
Bake at 400 F for 18 to 22 minutes, or until done.

Tom Lehmann

There is a malady called Celiac Disease and persons suffering from this disease have a very low tolerance to wheat proteins. This is not to be confused with persons having an allergic reaction to wheat proteins. In this latter case, even the most minute exposure to wheat proteins can result in a potentially life threatening allergic reaction. In the food industry there are very specific guidelines for dealing with ingredients, which are known as "allergens," so for the sake of this answering this question we will deal only with persons having Celiac Disease or some other intolerance to wheat protein. There are a number of companies offering products including finished products like breads and cookies and also dry mixes for persons with Celiac Disease. These companies can be found with a simple web search on the internet using the key works Celiac Disease or gluten free.
Making a product that is acceptable to a person with an intolerance to wheat protein is a little problematic in that the ingredients normally used are not available through our regular suppliers. Some of the ingredients that will be needed are available at your local supermarket, while others might need to be purchased through a health or specialty store or ingredient supplier to the food industry. One recipe that was passed on to me some time ago is as follows:

1-packet of instant dry yeast (IDY)
2/3 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons soy flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder

Procedure: Place all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, and dry blend together for 30 seconds. Combine liquids and add to the dry blend. Using a flat beater, mix until the mass comes together and begins to form a dough-like consistency. Adjust the amount of water added to give a soft dough-like consistency. Turn dough out of mixing bowl onto a bench top dusted with rice flour. Portion out in the same amounts as you would your regular pizza dough. Be sure to keep your hands oiled with salad oil to keep the dough from sticking to them. Place the portioned dough into oiled pizza pans/trays and press out by hand to fit the dough into the pan. Par-bake the crust at 425 to 450 F until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and brush the top of the crust with olive oil and apply sauce, followed by the toppings of choice. Return the pizza to the oven to finish baking.

Here is another low-gluten dough formula that I developed here at the American Institute of Baking many years ago.
Raw, non-gelatinized, wheat starch: 1 pound
Xanthan gum: 1/3-ounce
Sucrose (table sugar) 2 1/3-ounces
Soy flour: 4-ounces
Salt: 1/3-ounce
Instant dry yeast: 1/2-ounce
Olive oil: 2-ounces
Water: (warm) 24-ounces

Procedure:
Add all of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and dry blend for several minutes. Then add the water and oil and mix with a flat beater (paddle) at low speed to thoroughly blend the ingredients into a thick paste. Leave the resulting batter in the bowl and cover to prevent drying. Allow the batter to ferment for 30 minutes, then mix again until smooth. Pour the batter into greased pans/trays until the batter just covers the bottom of the pan and par-bake at 450F for a thin crust. To make thick crusts pour about 1/4 inch of batter into the pan, and allow it to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes, then par-bake the same as for the thin crust shells. The par-baked shells can be refrigerated for use at a later time, or they can be immediately dressed and finished.

Support Slice of Hope

Pasquale "Pat" Bruno

You may have heard this story before (and surely from me at one time or another, either at International Pizza Expo or in the pages of this magazine), but it bears retelling. When pizza Margherita came along, it was a seminal moment in the history of the very business we are in. And here, one more time, is the story.

As the 19th century was coming to a close, pizza –– pizza baked in coal-fired ovens that reached temperatures upward of 750 F –– became as important to Naples as Sophia Loren was some 60 years later. Pizza was being sold from stalls and eaten on the street with great relish from midday until the wee hours of the morning.

Pizza ascended to another plateau in 1889, when King Umberto I made a visit to Naples. At his side was Queen Margherita, who immediately wanted to try this food she had heard so much about. The story goes that, of course, the queen wasn’t going to a humble pizzeria, so the pizza was brought to the palazzo where the royal couple was staying (probably the first record of a pizza delivery).

The pizza was delivered by Raffaele Esposito, owner of the famous pizzeria Pietro il Pizzaiolo. Esposito went with his wife, Donna Rosa, who was, in fact, the pizza maker. They brought enough ingredients to make three kinds of pizza, and after sampling all three, Queen Margherita selected as her favorite the pizza made with tomatoes, fresh bufala mozzarella and fresh basil. To this day the Margherita remains one of the most popular pizzas sold in the United States as well as Italy.

At first glance, with but three basic ingredients, putting together a fabulous pizza Margherita is simple.

Maybe.

What we are going for here is the perfect pizza Margherita. After all, we have over a hundred years of tradition to honor and respect. Here’s the question: Can you use one type of dough for the perfect pizza Margherita, no matter what kind of oven you have? Yes. I am not here to change your whole dough-making procedures for the sake of one style of pizza.

It’s true, however, that a pizza dough made with a softer flour, such as bread flour or 00 flour, has a better chance for perfection in most ovens (wood burning, particularly) than say, a harder (higher protein) flour. However, that’s assuming that the pizza is going to be eaten on the premises (not taken out, not delivered), because a pizza made with softer flour is at its best when served within minutes of coming out of the oven.

So now we need to look for a happy medium that covers all the bases, and that leads me to an unbleached all-purpose flour. In some applications, however, I choose to use a blend of flours: combining 70 percent low protein flour (bread flour or 00 flour) with 30 percent high-protein flour. I know the idea of blending flour is getting a bit out there, but when striving for perfection we have to go the extra mile.

Now about the tomatoes. Here’s the scoop. The tomatoes that go on a classic Margherita pizza should be plum (canned, crushed and drained) or fresh (skinned and pureed) or an unseasoned light, ground, all-purpose tomato. Regardless of which type of tomato you go with, put it on lightly –– just a smear, half of what you might ordinarily use.

When it comes to the cheese, you have two choices: Fresh bufala mozzarella DOP, or fresh mozzarella (fior de latte). Dice it, slice it, whatever works best for you. Again, use a light hand. The key is balance.

Remember to use fresh basil, and it is to go on the pizza only after it comes out of the oven. In fact, a classic pizza Margherita comes to the table (in most places) with but one leaf of fresh basil stuck in the very center. However, use your good judgment as to how much basil you will add. One pizza place in Chicago serves a chiffonade of fresh basil on a separate plate with a pizza Margherita, which allows the customer to put on as much or as little as they please.

That’s it. Nothing else, I repeat, nothing else, goes on a classic pizza Margherita.

Pizza Margherita
Test recipe for dough. Makes 2 13- to 14-inch pizza shells

1/4 ounce active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-110 F)
3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour or 00 flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Blend the yeast with the water to combine. Add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix to form a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let rise overnight in the cooler.

The next day take the dough out of the cooler and give it a minimum of 2 hours bench or proof time before making the pizza (do not punch it down). Stretch each piece of dough to about 13-inches in diameter.

Brush each shell with olive oil. Top each shell with about 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of tomato puree, followed by 5 ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced thin or chopped coarse. Bake the pizza.

Shortly after the pizza comes out of the oven add the leaves of fresh basil. Serve.

By Pizza Today Staff

If you’d like to make sourdough breadsticks or pizza crust, you’re going to have to start with a sour! Thankfully, there’s nothing to it. Begin by whisking together 1 1/2 pounds of flour and 1 1/2 pounds of water to make slurry. Place the slurry in a large, food-grade plastic container with a lid. Leave covered to minimize contamination. Allow the slurry to mature at room temperature (76 to 81 F) for 6 to 8 hours, and then retard it below 42 F for 16 to 18 hours. At this point, the slurry now becomes a sour.

Next, add 2 1/2 pounds of water and 2 1/2 pounds of flour to the sour. Allow it to mature again for 24 hours. Add the same amount of water again and allow it to mature for another 24 hours. Sour can now be placed into the cooler for use during the next several days.

As you use the sour, replenish the amount extracted with equal parts flour and water. The sour will be perpetual in that you will not have to allow it to set at room temperature to mature again, unless the flavor changes. Be aware that this can be a common occurrence, however, as it’s difficult to control the flavor on a sour.

Tom Lehmann

It seems like we are always looking for something more flavorful in pizza crusts and breadsticks. One answer to this search is sourdough. Sourdough has been in use much longer than yeast as we know it today. We know that some type of sourdough was used by ancient Egyptians to produce a type of flat bread more than 3,000 years ago, when sours were the only known means to leaven breads before yeast was propagated. When we think of a sourdough, we normally think of the flavor of a San Francisco sourdough bread, but the truth is, all sourdoughs do not produce a sour or tangy flavor. Some sourdoughs are more bland; in fact, the Italian bread, pannetone, has been made from a type of sourdough.
A sourdough’s flavor is dependent upon the type of microorganism growing in the culture. In some cases, such as that used for making pannetone, the idea is to have one of the various wild yeasts as the dominant microorganism in the culture. In other cases where a true sourness is the goal, the idea is to have the growth of certain bacteria, specifically strains of lactobacillus –– the same bacteria responsible for the flavors of yogurt, cheese and sour cream. There are so many different types of bacteria present, however, that it is hard to control just which one will become dominant. You have probably heard stories about someone losing their sourdough starter. No, they didn’t misplace it. Simply, the bacteria which had been the dominant strain and giving a desirable flavor was overcome by another type or strain of bacteria resulting in a different flavor in the finished product. To prevent this from happening bakers for years have been setting multiple sours based on a “mother sour” so the bacteria balance is preserved in more than one place.
This is likened to backing up your computer data files in more than one location, so in the event that one location is lost, it is still available in other secure locations.

So, just how do we go about starting a sour? In the past, it was common to just make a soupy blend of flour and water and leave it in an exposed open container. Wild yeasts and bacteria in the air would settle on it. It would then be covered and allowed to propagate for a couple of days. Then it was used to make a leavened product. If the flavor was good, it was placed into a cool area and replenished on a regular basis as a perpetuated sour. If the flavor was not what was hoped for, it was discarded and started over again. It was a matter of trial and error until an acceptable sour flavor was achieved. Today, this has all changed. Instead of trial and error, a blend of very specific/known bacteria and or yeasts is purchased and used to seed the starter. Very specific instructions are provided by the manufacturer of the inoculating material on how to set or prepare the starter, propagate it and feed the sour so as to retain it's viability and purity. Properly handled, a sour can be saved and used for many years, if not indefinitely.

If you want to try your hand at making your own sour, hare is a very basic procedure that can be followed:

Using your regular pizza flour, mix equal portions (by weight) of flour and water and set aside in a large, open bowl for 24 hours at room temperature (25C/77F). Next, add to this another blend of equal amounts of flour and water and transfer to a covered container (not aluminum) and allow to mature for another 24 hours. The resulting sour is now ready to use. A good sourdough formula can be made using the sour to replace 25 percent of the flour in a dough formula. Remember that the sour is 50 percent or 1/2 flour, so you will need to use twice as much sour as flour that you are replacing. For example, if your dough formula calls for 40 pounds of flour, you will use 30 pounds of flour and 20 pounds of sour. Then don't forget that there is all that water in the sour, too. In this case there are 10 pounds of water in the sour and that water needs to be subtracted from the water that you will add to the dough. If you don’t do this, you will end up making a pot of soup rather than a dough. To perpetuate your sour, you must now replenish it to build it back to the original amount. Since we used 20 pounds of sour we must replenish it with 20 pounds of new flour and water in equal parts. In this case it will be 10 pounds of flour and 10 pounds of water. The sour will be ready to use again in 24 hours. If the sour will not be used on the following day it must be refrigerated and cooled as quickly as possible. Once thoroughly cooled, the sour can be held under refrigeration for up to three days and used in the normal manner, but if it is held for more than three days the sour should be replenished once or twice before it is again used. To do this, remove half of the amount of sour that you plan to use, to this add the same weight of a 50/50 flour/water blend and allow to mature for 24 hours at room temperature. This is a single replenishing. If a double replenishing is to be given, just repeat this procedure for a second time and the replenished sour will be ready to use. It is a good idea to replenish the sour that you have stored in the cooler on a weekly basis to help retain its viability.


A good starting formula for a sourdough is as follows:

Strong pizza flour — 15 pounds
Sourdough starter — 10 pounds
Salt — 6 ounces
Oil — 7 ounces
Compressed yeast — 0.75 ounce
Water (70 F) — 4 pounds
Procedure: Combine all of the ingredients and mix just until the dough starts to become smooth in appearance (do not over mix). Take the dough directly to the bench and divide into desired weight pieces for thin crust, form into balls, cover to prevent drying, and set aside to rest until the dough balls can be formed into dough skins. Allow the formed dough skins to rest on trays or screens for about 20 minutes before dressing and baking. Sourdough crusts do not bake to a golden brown color, but instead will typically have a light, sandy finished color.